Fabrication Guides
11 long-form guides on gate sizing, materials, joinery, and the Australian Standards that govern compliant work. Each guide pulls data from a working CAD60 catalogue and references the relevant AS/NZS standards directly.
What to Include on a Gate Fabrication Drawing
The eight things every gate shop drawing needs: title block, overall and clear-opening dimensions, frame profiles, infill spacing, hardware, finish callout, and a cut list. Worked example.
How to Quote a Sliding Gate
A worked sliding-gate quote, line by line: aluminium and tube, hardware, motor, finish, labour hours, and margin. The numbers a fabricator marks up, with a full 4 m example.
Cantilever vs Tracked Sliding Gate
When to run a cantilever gate and when a ground-tracked one wins. Span limits, counterbalance, slope, debris, cost, and a side-by-side table to pick fast.
Pool Gate Compliance: What AS 1926.1 Requires
The AS 1926.1 rules a pool gate must meet: self-closing, self-latching, latch height, non-climbable zone, and the 100 mm gap. A buildable checklist for fabricators.
When to Use a Telescopic Gate
A telescopic (bi-parting) gate splits the leaf so it needs half the run-back of a single slide. When that trade-off is worth it, where it isn't, and how to size the panels.
How to Make Fabrication Drawings Without CAD
You don't need AutoCAD or SolidWorks to draw a gate. Type the dimensions, get a fully dimensioned shop drawing and cut list. Here is the whole workflow, free, in minutes.
How to Make a Shop Drawing for a Sliding Gate
Measure the opening, pick a style, type the numbers, fill the title block, download the PDF. A step-by-step sliding-gate shop drawing with a live worked example.
How to Measure Up Sliding Gates on Raked Ground
How to measure up a sliding gate on sloping ground. Flat, single rake, and double rake explained simply, with the datum-line method and drag-to-learn diagrams.
Which Type of Gate to Choose
A practical decision guide covering pedestrian, swing, sliding, cantilever, telescopic, and bi-fold gates. Width, site, use, compliance, and cost factors.
Standard Pedestrian Gate Sizes in Australia
Standard widths, heights, hardware, and full worked specs for residential, commercial, and pool-compliant pedestrian gates in Australia. AS1428.1 and AS1926.1 references.
RHS vs SHS for Steel Gate Frames
Choosing between RHS and SHS for stiles, rails, and posts. Section properties, worked bending-moment example, stiffeners, welding, HDG, and material cost.